Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Directors: Females

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require companies to publish action plans on how they aim to increase the number of women in FTSE 100 boardroom roles.

Lord Callanan: Decisions about the publishing of action plans are for private companies to make, and not subject to any mandatory Government requirements. However, since 2011 the Government has sponsored and supported a series of independent reviews, aimed at increasing the proportion of women in top FTSE roles. This business led approach to increasing the proportion of women on boards has involved voluntary targets, persuasive and informative information campaigns as well as active tracking of the FTSE performance. Since 2011 the proportion of women on FTSE 350 boards has increased from 9.5% in 2011, to 37.6% at the end of 2021. The independent reviews initially set a target of 25% of board members should be women (under the Davies Review), followed by 33% (under the Hampton-Alexander Review) and, finally, 40% under the FTSE Women Leaders Review, the latest report for which was published on 22nd February 2022. The significant progress made in women on FTSE boards has allowed the UK to this year rank in second place, behind France, when compared internationally to other countries working to improve the gender balance on the boards of public listed companies. The UK is now ranked higher than countries who have set a statutory quota for women on boards.

Department of Health and Social Care

Integrated Care Boards: Recruitment

Baroness Jolly: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of appointing named board-level officers with responsibility for innovation to the proposed Integrated Care Boards under the Health and Care Bill.

Baroness Jolly: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to incentivise Integrated Care Systems to appoint a named individual with responsibility for innovation to (1) Integrated Care Boards,or (2) Integrated Care Board committees.

Lord Kamall: No assessment of the merits of appointing named board-level officers with responsibility for innovation has been made. Integrated care boards (ICBs) should have the flexibility to design the membership to meet its needs, while ensuring the appropriate skills and experience necessary to properly discharge their functions.The Government’s amendment to the Health and Care Bill would require the ICB to consider the skills, knowledge and experience it needs and mitigate against any gaps in expertise, including in its duty to promote innovation.

Evusheld

Lord Lansley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the emergency use authorisation listed on 8 December 2021 of AstraZeneca's Evusheld for pre-exposure prophylaxis in (1) certain adults, and (2) children.

Lord Kamall: We are aware that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) listed an emergency use authorisation for Evusheld in December 2021, which was revised on 24 February 2022. The FDA has modified their dosing regimen according to its available data and consider that a higher dose of Evusheld may be more likely to prevent infection by the Omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.1.1 than the originally authorised Evusheld dose.We continue to monitor emerging data for Evusheld and other treatments for applicability in the United Kingdom for prevalent variants and which patient groups could potentially benefit. Evusheld is not currently authorised in the UK.

Eating Disorders

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of medical training for the treatment of eating disorders.

Lord Kamall: No specific assessment has been made.However, the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with Health Education England to improve training for general practitioners and with the General Medical Council to ensure eating disorders are included amongst outcome measures for newly qualified clinicians.NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England are also working with partners to procure training courses to increase the capacity of the existing workforce to provide evidence-based treatment.

Department for Education

National Tutoring Programme

Lord Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many tutors there are currently in the National Tutoring Programme.

Lord Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the budget earmarked for the National Tutoring Programme.

Baroness Barran: The National Tutoring Programme has a budget of £1.01 billion for the duration of the 3 year programme. The department does not hold data on how many tutors currently work in the programmeSchools are employing tutors by using their share of the £579 million school-led tutoring grant. Last term, 256,000 courses started with these tutors.56 approved tuition partners are contracted with the department’s delivery partner, Randstad, to provide tutoring. Each tutoring organisation commits to delivering a minimum of 500 15-hour tuition courses.As of 12 December 2021, an estimated 20,000 starts had been made by pupils on courses of tuition provided through academic mentors in the 2021/22 academic year.

History: Education

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history in the school curriculum to combat bullying in schools.

Baroness Barran: The history curriculum gives teachers and schools the freedom to use specific examples to teach pupils about the history of Britain and the wider world.Gypsy, Roma and Travellers’ history can already be taught as part of schools offering a broad and balanced curriculum. Resources are available from experts in the communities themselves and bodies such as the Historical Association.In recognition of its importance, the Holocaust is the only historic event which is compulsory within the national curriculum for history at key stage 3. The curriculum gives teachers and schools the freedom to decide how to teach the subject and what resources to use to support an understanding of the Holocaust, and the experiences of non-Jewish victims of Nazi persecution.The department is providing over £1.1 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2022, to five anti-bullying organisations, to support schools to tackle bullying. We are working with all five organisations to ensure any training and resources produced as part of these projects are in line with our requirements.Our preventing and tackling bullying guidance sets out that schools should develop a consistent approach to monitoring bullying incidents and evaluating the effectiveness of their approaches.Alongside guidance, the department’s Educate Against Hate website provides teachers, school leaders and parents with advice and trusted resources to safeguard young people from radicalisation, build resilience to all types of extremism and promote shared values. We have also published the Respectful School Communities: Self-review and Signposting Tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can help education settings combat bullying, harassment, and prejudice of any kind, including hate-based bullying.

Extracurricular Activities: Children and Young People

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of summer camps for young people; and what support they currently give to summer camps, particularly those helping children and young people from deprived communities.

Baroness Barran: The department recognises the significant benefits that summer camps can have for children’s mental health and wellbeing, as well as their educational and social development, and the particular value that this has for children and young people from deprived communities.As announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer as part of the Spending Review, on 27 October 2021, the government will be providing over £200 million a year for the continuation of the holiday activities and food programme. This offers valuable support to families on lower incomes by providing enriching activities and healthy meals for disadvantaged children during school holidays. Local authorities will be able to use the funding for this programme, which is delivered through grants, to arrange childcare provision through a range of settings, including summer camps.In addition, £60 million of the £750 million package for the voluntary and charity sector, has been directed towards organisations supporting children and young people. More recently, a £16.5 million youth COVID-19 support fund has been announced, which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country. A press release about this support fund is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-165-million-youth-covid-19-support-fund. This is on top of the £200 million government investment in early intervention and prevention support initiatives to support children and young people at risk of exploitation and involvement in serious violence, through the Youth Endowment Fund.The department also supports a number of initiatives to expand access to high-quality, extra-curricular activities for all children and young people. Many of these activities operate over the summer and include:Investing £3.4 million over 3 academic years to support the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to expand into more schools in the most deprived areas of England, enabling access to young people who may previously have faced barriers to taking part. The department’s Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expansion initiative aims to support up to 291 schools not currently delivering the Award.Supporting children and young people’s wellbeing over the summer holidays, by making up to £200 million available for secondary schools to deliver face-to-face summer schools in summer 2021, giving secondary pupils access to enrichment activities (such as games, music, drama and sports) that they have missed out on during the COVID-19 outbreak, and updating the pupil premium guidance. This update allows schools to use their pupil premium grant to offer a flexible, broad range of extracurricular activities.We are examining the research findings for the summer schools 2021 programme, which are due to be published in March. This is part of the department’s continued assessment of the impact of all education recovery programmes and we will continue to revise guidance on development and implementation of existing programmes, including where these programmes could provide support out of hours and term time.

Energy: Prices

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of rising energy prices on (1) nurseries, (2) primary schools, (3) secondary schools, and (4) colleges; and what plans they have to assist in covering these costs.

Baroness Barran: We recognise that schools, colleges and nurseries are facing inflationary pressures, and we continue to monitor the impact of rising energy costs on education providers, paying close attention to financial health of the sector. Cost increases should be seen in the wider context of funding across these providers, and investments secured at the 2021 Spending Review.The department has announced additional funding for the early years entitlements worth £160 million in financial year 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24 and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the current year. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers for the government’s free childcare entitlement offers and reflects cost pressures as well as anticipated changes in the number of eligible children.The core schools budget, for pupils aged 5-16 and 0-25 in the case of high needs funding, will see a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding to £53.8 billion. Overall, this represents a 5% real terms per pupil boost, helping schools meet the pressures we know they are facing. We know that the vast majority of school expenditure is devoted to staff costs. This means that even while energy costs are rising, inflation in this area would have an impact on only a small portion of a school’s budget overall.The department has made available an extra £1.6 billion for 16-19 education in 2024/25 compared with the 2021/22 financial year. This includes an up-front cash boost which will see the rate of funding per student increase by over 8% in the 2022/23 academic year. We are simplifying funding, removing the separate Teacher’s Pay Grant for schools’ post-16 provision and using this funding to increase the national rate of funding for a Band 5 student to £4,542. We will match this increase for other providers, including colleges to help with pressures across the further education sector. The very significant increase to the national funding rate and the other funding increases alongside this demonstrates our commitment to 16-19 education and will help with college income. We are also continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget, £1.34 billion in financial year 2021/22.All schools can access a range of School Resource Management (SRM) tools to help them get the best value from their resources. Our SRM tools include two recommended deals for energy costs and ancillary services relating to energy, which can be accessed via the 'Find a DfE-approved framework for your school' service on GOV.UK.We know that every school’s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). Where colleges are at risk of running out of cash, emergency funding is considered by the ESFA on a case-by-case basis and based on a thorough assessment of each college's circumstances and the minimum funding needed to minimise disruption to students.

Equality: Education

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of results of a recent YouGov survey which found that only 12 per cent of teachers feel empowered to teach diversity issues; and what steps they are taking to increase this number.

Baroness Barran: The national curriculum is a framework setting out the content of what the department expects schools to cover in each subject and is just one element in the education of every child. There is time and space in the school day and in each week, term and year to go beyond these specifications. The national curriculum does not set out how curriculum subjects, or topics within the subjects, should be taught. The department believes teachers should be able to use their own knowledge and expertise to determine how they teach their pupils, and to make choices about what they teach.The department is committed to an inclusive education system which recognises and embraces cultural diversity. As part of the broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies, and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain. Diversity issues are covered in several subjects within the curriculum, including but not limited to history, English, citizenship and religious studies. Furthermore, there is a model curriculum being developed for history, which will offer high quality support for knowledge-rich teaching on diversity in this subject.In autumn 2021, the department launched the National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) to support teachers and leaders who want to develop their knowledge and skills in specialist areas of teaching practice. The Leading Behaviour and Culture NPQ supports teachers to set clear expectations and communicate shared values that improve classroom and school culture. It encourages teachers to create environments where all pupils and colleagues feel welcome, safe, and able to learn from their mistakes, empowering teachers to explore a range of topics, such as diversity, and support others to do the same. More information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-professional-qualifications-npqs-reforms/national-professional-qualifications-npqs-reforms.

Ministry of Justice

Abduction: Children

Baroness Pitkeathley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the recourse available through the family courtswhere a child has been abducted from the UK to an EU Member State which is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention,nowthat the Brussels II Regulation no longer applies.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: Applications for the return of a child wrongfully removed or wrongfully retained away from the UK are made to the court in the country where the child has been taken or retained. All EU member states are party to the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention and the UK continues to operate the Convention with them through the Central Authorities which transmit applications. This position was not changed by the UK’s exit from the EU.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Africa: EU Aid

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether British organisations will be able to participate in the procurement process for infrastructure projects that will be funded by the EU in its €150 billion investment in infrastructure in Africa under the Global Gateway programme.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: EU Global Gateway projects are developed and delivered through Team Europe Initiatives. The EU, EU Member States, and European financial institutions work together with European businesses as well as governments, civil society and the private sector in partner countries.UK entities are eligible to participate in procurement procedures for actions financed under the "Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) - Global Europe" geographic programmes and the Global Challenges thematic programme where contracts are implemented in Least Developed Countries or highly indebted poor countries that are eligible to receive Official Development Assistance (see Article 28(1)(f) of the Regulation (EU) 2021/947- EUR-Lex - 32021R0947 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu)). The UK does not contribute to the NDICI, which includes the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+). The EFSD+ is the main financial tool for mobilising investments under the Global Gateway, providing guarantees for de-risking activities and leveraging private investment. The UK does not contribute to EFSD+ investments and UK entities are not eligible for guarantees or other financial instruments.

Afghanistan: Humanitarian Aid

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 21 February (HL6047), whether they will now answer the question put, namely what discussions they have had with Muslim charitieswho are able to reach those in need in Afghanistan about the provision of aid.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In August, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would double its assistance for Afghanistan to £286 million this financial year. This will support over 6.1 million people with life-saving aid. Since April, we have disbursed over £261 million and we are working at pace to allocate the remaining funding. On 31 March, the UK with the UN and Germany will host a pledging conference on Afghanistan to raise funds to scale up essential humanitarian support for the people of Afghanistan.Officials have met frequently with humanitarian NGOs including representatives of Bond, which includes Muslim charities. Our meetings with these organisations form an important part of assessing the changing situation on the ground and how we can address any obstacles to aid getting through.

Uyghur Tribunal

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they declined an offer to give evidence to the UK Tribunal on the treatment of Uyghur individuals in China; and if so, what were the reasons for this decision.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We welcome the contribution the panel chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice has made to building international awareness and understanding of the human rights violations in Xinjiang. The findings add to our serious and well-known concerns about the severity of the human rights violations being perpetrated against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. FCDO Ministers and officials engaged extensively with Sir Geoffrey over the last year to discuss the panel's work. We also followed its work closely, and FCDO officials observed virtually the panel's hearings and concluding session.

Ministry of Defence

USA: Unidentified Flying Objects

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to request access to the classified version of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Assessment, dated 25 June 2021, from the Office of the Direction of National Intelligence in the United States of America.

Baroness Goldie: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes all credible threats to UK airspace very seriously and we work with many allies to ensure its integrity. It is not MOD policy to comment on details of classified information, passed to Her Majesty's Government by an ally.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Moy Park and Pilgrim's: Finance

Lord Cunningham of Felling: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have provided financial support to (1) Moy Park, or (2) Pilgrim's Pride, for their operations in the UK.

Lord Benyon: The Government provides a wide range of grants and financial support which UK businesses are able to access. No central database of beneficiaries is held. In the last year, Moy Park has received no financial support from Defra, while Pilgrim’s Pride has utilised the pigmeat Slaughter Incentive Payment scheme, which was introduced in January 2022 in response to the current disruption in the pig sector.

Fishing Vessels: Monitoring

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of the devolved nations regarding introducing Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) on all UK fishing fleets.

Lord Benyon: The Government has been clear that we see the potential for REM, including cameras, to support our ambitions for sustainable fisheries management and protecting the marine environment.The enforcement of fisheries management measures and scientific monitoring of fish stocks are, however, devolved matters. It is therefore for each UK administration to decide its approach. There are regular discussions on REM as part of the normal policy development process. We will continue to work with our colleagues around the UK to discuss our policies where it is right to do so.

Water Companies: Pay

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require private water companies to link executive pay to performance.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Ofwat set clear expectations in the 2019 price review that required water companies to improve their corporate and financial behaviours, including through transparency about how executive performance pay and dividends relate to services for customers. Ofwat's expectations for companies on performance related pay were reflected in Ofwat's Board leadership, transparency and governance principles (copy attached to this answer), updated in April 2019, and companies' licences now require them to meet the four overarching objectives of these principles.Ofwat's interim CEO recently wrote (copy attached) to water company remuneration committee chairs to reiterate the expectations on their approach to performance related executive pay for 2021-2022. We have made clear through our Strategic Policy Statement that we expect water companies to make improvements in water quality as a priority. If water companies do not meet their obligations we, and our regulators, will take swift action.Board leadership principles (pdf, 562.7KB)Letter from David Black (pdf, 35.9KB)

Furs: Imports

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a ban of the import ofanimal fur as part of their proposed animal welfare legislation.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Now we have left the EU, the Government is able to explore potential action in relation to animal fur. We are reviewing the evidence gathered both from our Call for Evidence and wider engagement with the fur trade and stakeholders, and a summary of responses will be published soon.

Pâté de Foie Gras: Imports

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a ban on the import of foie gras as part of their proposed animal welfare legislation.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Government has made clear that the production of foie gras from ducks or geese using force feeding raises serious welfare concerns. Now we have left the EU we are able to consider any further steps that could be taken in relation to foie gras that is produced overseas using force feeding practices, such as restrictions on import and sale. We are gathering information and will continue to speak to a range of interested parties about the issues involved. This is in line with the Government’s commitment to improving animal welfare standards as set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Plagiarism

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plagiarism detection software government employeeshaveaccess to; whether this software is used to review government publications before release; and what penalties are applied to staff found to have submitted plagiarised work for publication.

Lord True: Individual departments are responsible for their own software procurements. As such, a list of plagiarism software available to government employees is not held centrally by Cabinet Office.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: India

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the opening of trade negotiations with India, (1) what is their timetable, and (2) what are the key milestones, for a free trade agreement between the UK and India.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: HM Government began negotiations of the United Kingdom-India free trade agreement on 17th January. The Written Ministerial Statement that I laid in the House on 31st January (UIN: HLWS557) provides more detail on the progress and outcomes of the first round of talks. We opened a second round of negotiations on 7th March, and will continue our work until such time that we have negotiated a deal that is in the British national interest.

Trade: Bureaucracy

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the reduction of bureaucracy in international trade.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: Through the Export Strategy, the Department is working across government to identify areas where we can reduce the regulatory burden, including through initiatives like the Single Trade Window which will create a single gateway for all data from traders into government. This streamlining of how businesses interact with the UK border will ease the business burden through efficiency and cost savings.The Export Support Service provides a single point of entry for advice and support for businesses who export or wish to do so to Europe, and the Export Academy offers training on the nature of exporting such as Preferential Tariffs.In the last financial year, we resolved over 200 barriers across 74 countries. And we have secured trade deals with 70 countries plus the EU, these deals covered trade worth £772 billion in 2020.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Arts: Coronavirus

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the UNESCO report 2022 Global Report Re|Shaping Policies For Creativity, published on 8 February, what steps they are taking to support creative industries in the UK in order to prevent job losses and cultural sector closures as a result of the pandemic, particularly in view of the report’s recommendations on (1) labour protection for artists and cultural professionals, and (2) better pension provision and sick pay for freelancers.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Government broadly welcomes the UNESCO 2022 Global Report ReShaping Policies For Creativity. We recognise the significant challenge the pandemic has posed to our arts and creative sectors and to the many individuals and freelancers working across these industries.DCMS officials have been engaging with HMRC, Creative UK, Arts Council England, individual freelancers within the sector, and leading organisations such as ‘What’s Next’ to understand better the impact the pandemic has had on the sector and those working in it.HM Government has been committed to supporting arts and culture throughout the pandemic. This can be seen through the unprecedented £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund support package which ensured venues and organisations survived the pandemic and continue to provide employment opportunities across the sector and the extension of tax relief for theatres, orchestras, museums, and galleries. We will continue to work closely with freelancers and organisations across the sector to see how we can best provide support to those affected.